


Happy Endings

by 4ce_in_sp4ce



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Major Character Injury, POV Eames (Inception), Worried Arthur (Inception), injured eames, job gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:00:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29299275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4ce_in_sp4ce/pseuds/4ce_in_sp4ce
Summary: People like them didn’t have happy endings. Eames knew that, and he knew Arthur knew that. But Arthur was stubborn, more so than anyone else Eames had met. Stubborn enough to insist the rest of the world was wrong. It was one of the many reasons Eames had fallen in love with him in the first place.
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Happy Endings

Eames had always loved Bogota. It was a vibrant city, full of lights and sounds and some of the best food he'd ever eaten. He'd been excited when a job there had come up; it'd been a decent one too, not too difficult and with a good payout. Except the mark had apparently made an even better offer that the architect couldn't resist, and he and Arthur had both found themselves with a new price on their heads when they _should've_ been enjoying the city and a few drinks. 

Arthur glanced around the corner briefly before heading back out onto the main street. Main thoroughfares like this were always a risk because of the exposure, but the crowd offered a bit of protection to even it out. "You said the safehouse is close?"

"About two more blocks." One of the only positives of their current situation was that Eames' love of Bogota meant he had an apartment there where they could lay low for a few days until things quieted down. Assuming it hadn't been compromised, of course.

Arthur looked like he was about to say something when a loud sound pierced through the general noise of the street, immediately followed by screams. It took Eames a moment to connect the sudden blinding pain in his side to the gunshot still echoing in the street, the pieces only falling into place when he brought his hand up to his side and pulled it back to find it covered in blood. He stumbled and a moment later Arthur's hands were gripping his shoulders as he slid down the building wall slowly, trying to keep him from falling. He was dimly aware of people yelling around him, but Arthur's voice was the only thing that managed to cut through the pain and surprise.

"Shit, shit, Eames? Look at me. Are you okay? Eames?"

Eames took a painful breath and smiled shakily as he felt the ground come up under him. "I think the, uh, the mark maybe caught up to us after all."

“It’s alright, you’ll be alright.” Arthur took his jacket off, pressing it against Eames’ stomach. “Someone…someone’s calling an ambulance, you’re going to be fine.”

Eames knew that was a lie. He could see it in Arthur’s face. And more than that, he could feel the blood already starting to soak his shirt; he was bleeding fast. “It’s not…it’s not good, is it?”

“You’re going to be fine.” He could hear the desperation in Arthur’s voice. “That ambulance is coming. Just stay with me, okay? Stay with me. You’re going to be okay.”

Shock was a strange thing. Eames knew he should be more panicked than he was, more afraid, but he just felt…numb. The pain in his side was white hot, worse than anything he’d ever felt before, but it felt like it was happening miles away to someone else. That was bad. He knew enough about shock and blood loss to know that was bad. He could see the fear and terror in Arthur’s face and he knew he should be feeling the same thing but he just…didn’t. He brought his hand up to cover Arthur’s; it was difficult and it took him a second to coordinate the movement, but he managed it after a moment. “‘M not…’m not gonna make it, love. Not with how much I’m bleeding.”

“No, I’m not-I’m not losing you. I’m not going to let that happen, just stay with me.”

The edges of Eames’ vision were starting to darken, but he could see the tears on Arthur’s face. “S’alright, love. This is how…this is how it ends for us, you know that.” He tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. “People like us don’t…don’t get happy endings.”

“Well, we’re going to have one, okay? You know how stubborn I am. I refuse to lose you.” Eames felt Arthur shift him and he found himself in Arthur’s lap, Arthur’s free arm cradling Eames against his chest. The movement sent a stab of pain through his body but Eames couldn’t quite bring himself to care. “You’re not allowed to die, Eames, okay? You’re not allowed to. You’re going to be okay, you _have_ to be okay, I-I can’t lose you, I can’t do that…”

Eames closed his eyes. He could hear sirens in the distance, getting closer, but they weren’t going to get there in time. It was alright though. If he was going to die he wanted it to be here, in Arthur’s arms, not in the back of an ambulance. “I love you.” It was getting harder to speak, and Eames wasn’t even sure Arthur could hear him anymore. 

There were so many things Eames had wanted to do with Arthur. He’d wanted to travel the world with him, not just for jobs. To stay in world class suites and shitty roadside motels and everything in between. To visit the Grand Canyon, because it was beautiful and Arthur had never been. To take him to the little hole in the wall tea shop he’d found in Kuala Lumpur and had known immediately Arthur would adore. He’d wanted to marry him eventually. Grow old with him. They’d never do any of those things now, but it was okay. The few years they’d had together hadn’t been long, but they’d been good. Wonderful, even. Better than someone like him deserved. That was enough. It had to be. He could feel himself losing consciousness, the sounds around him becoming muffled and hard to differentiate. He could still feel Arthur holding him, though, and that was all he wanted.“‘M sorry, darling. I love you.”

XXX

The smell was the first thing he noticed.

Eames had always hated the smell of hospitals. They smelled like antiseptic and death and cleaning supplies. It was a sharp smell that clung to you even after you left, and was one of the many reasons he avoided hospitals as much as possible. It was an odd thing to be smelling now, too, considering Eames was fairly certain he’d died. 

A steady beeping gradually drifted to his attention and he opened his eyes slowly. The harsh fluorescent glare made it difficult to focus, but his eyes started to adjust after a moment. More sounds were filtering in now. Muffled announcements over a loudspeaker. A fan blowing. Some sort of TV show that sounded like it was in Spanish, but Eames couldn’t quite focus on the words enough to tell for sure. He was beginning to doubt his earlier belief that he’d died because if this was the afterlife, he wasn’t impressed. 

A small sound off to his side caught his attention and he turned to look slowly, which took more effort than he anticipated. Arthur was curled in what looked like a truly uncomfortable position in a chair beside Eames’ bed, asleep. He was wearing the same clothes he’d been wearing earlier, minus his jacket, and Eames could see dark stains covering the fabric. Blood. His blood. Eames reached out slowly, fingers brushing against Arthur’s arm. The movement was difficult, but he needed to know Arthur was really there. That he wasn’t imagining him.

Arthur’s eyes flew open at the contact. He sat up with a start, looking around wildly until he saw Eames. His shoulders sagged as relief flooded his expression. “You’re awake.”

“Yeah. Didn’t think I was going to do that.” Eames could see the dark circles under Arthur’s eyes, and he’d clearly been crying. He’d deny it, of course, but it was easy to see. “You look like shit, darling.”

Arthur smiled slightly and let out a small chuckle. “I still look better than you.” He reached out and brushed Eames’ hair off his forehead, worry creeping back into his expression. “You scared me. I thought I’d lost you.”

“I thought you did too.” Eames brought his hand up to Arthur’s face. Even through the fog of the copious amounts of pain meds he was sure he was on- he’d be in a hell of a lot more pain if he wasn’t- Eames was uncomfortably aware of how close things had been. 

Arthur leaned into the touch, closing his eyes and covering Eames’ hand with his own. “You’re alright though. You’re okay.” Eames wasn’t sure whether Arthur was trying to reassure him or himself. Maybe both of them. Probably both of them. After a moment he opened his eyes again, giving Eames another small, if somewhat unconvincing, smile. “Told you I was stubborn though, didn’t I? I’m not-” his voice broke slightly, “I’m not losing you. I refuse. I don’t care if people like us don’t have happy endings. We’re going to have one anyways.”

Eames smiled. People like them _didn’t_ have happy endings. He knew that, and he knew Arthur knew that. But Arthur was stubborn, more so than anyone else Eames had met. Stubborn enough to insist the rest of the world was wrong. To look death in the eye and say no. It was one of the many reasons Eames had fallen in love with him in the first place. There were so many things he wanted to say but the pain meds made it hard to think, and even harder to organize those thoughts into words, so he just kept smiling. “I love you.”

Arthur’s smile was more genuine this time. “I love you too.” He gripped Eames’ hand, running his thumb over Eames’ knuckles gently. “Get some rest. You need it.”

“Mm.” Eames closed his eyes. It wouldn’t take long for him to drift back off. He knew they were almost definitely still in at least some level of danger and they'd need to make a quick escape as soon as he was healed enough, but it all seemed so distant. It would be alright; Arthur was beside him, steady and solid, and it would be okay. “So do you.”

“I’ll stay here, it’ll be fine.” Arthur was brushing his hair back gently again, fingers lingering against his skin. “I’ll rest better now that I know you’re okay.”


End file.
